DIONNE WARWICK

The youngsters amongst you may well have no idea who/what DIONNE WARWICK was/is. A few may know that she's related to WHITNEY HOUSTON (they're cousins). A few may remember her for her unfortunate foray into TV hucksterism (Psychic Friends Network, anyone?). Then there was her well-intentioned-but-ultimately-insufferable 1986 charity single ("That's What Friends Are For," with ELTON JOHN, STEVIE WONDER, and GLADYS KNIGHT). Finally, some may recall that she was the original host of the cheesy-in-the-extreme '80s music-charts countdown show "Solid Gold" (Arsenio Hall was the show's FINAL host).

For our purposes today, though, Dionne Warwick should be remembered simply as one of the biggest -- and most consistent -- hitmakers of the '60s. Because that's exactly who and what she was and is.

[MP3] "I Say a Little Prayer"

[MP3] "Reach Out for Me"

[MP3] "Walk on By"

[MP3] "Trains and Boats and Planes"

[MP3] "Anyone Who Had a Heart"

[MP3] "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Heartbreaker" [This one's from 1982 and is included because (1) it's quite catchy, and (2) it provides a logical extension from Friday's BEE GEES post (the Brothers Gibb wrote and produced it).]

BEE GEES

Thirty years ago, it wasn't the U.S. and U.S.S.R. that ruled the world; it was the BEE GEES. And ABBA. And it was the Boy in the Bubble/Vinnie Barbarino suddenly going white-hot on the Big Screen.

I still remember seeing a double-feature (they still HAD double-features in those days) of "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever" with my parents in what must have been '78 or '79. I thought "Grease" was groovy. "Fever" put me to sleep. But hey, I was just a kid, and the second movie of a double-feature almost ALWAYS put me to sleep. Case(s) in point: "The Fifth Avenue Irregulars" ('79)/"The Black Marble" ('80) & "Death on the Nile" ('78)/"Murder on the Orient Express" ('74). Only "Wolfen" (''81)/"The Shining" ('80) [at the drive-in, with my sister] broke the streak. (I was too scared-shitless by that damned hedge-maze and spooky-ass music to nod off during that one.)

Most of this has nothing at all to do with today's MP3s offerings; I'm just taking a hop, skip, & plunge down the Yellow Brick Road of nostalgia. And I'm not the only one. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Saturday Night Fever" and its attendant cultural phenomena, RHINO is re-releasing the Bee Gees' 1979 double-disc greatest-hits colection. The first four tracks below are pulled from there.

The last four tracks are from an even-earlier, even-more-innocent time. These were songs my even-younger, blonder self listened to on the AM radio of my father's blue Ford LTD, circa '73, '74, '75.... The Brothers Gibb weren't doing disco in those days. "Soft rock," more like. Along with THE CARPENTERS and SEALS & CROFTS and JIM CROCE and JANIS IAN and THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE and etc. (But we'll save those folks for the next time nostalgia comes knockin'....)

<<< '70s >>>

[MP3] "Stayin' Alive"

[MP3] "Tragedy"

[MP3] "More Than a Woman"

[MP3] "If I Can't Have You"

<<< '60s >>>

[MP3] "I Started a Joke"

[MP3] "Holiday"

[MP3] "To Love Somebody"

[MP3] "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"